Flexural-extensional electro-mechanical transducer

Claim 1

A COMPOSITE ELECTROMECANICAL TRANSDUCER COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: A PLURALITY OF OPEN-ENDED TUBULAR DIAPHRAGM MEMBERS OF IDENTICAL NON-CIRCULAR CROSS SECTIONS, EACH OF SAID TUBULAR DIAPHRAGM MEMBERS BEING ADAPTED TO VIBRATE IN THE FLEXURAL MODE AND SAID PLURALITY OF TUBULAR DIAPHRAGM MEMBER BEING JOINED AND SEALED ENDTO-END, ELECTRICALLY-ACTUATABLE ELECTROMECHANICAL CONVERTER MEANS, INDIVIDUAL TO AN DISPOSED WITHIN EACH OF SAID DIAPHRAGM MEMBERS IN THRUST-TRANSMITTING RELATIONSHIP THEREWITH AND VIBRATE IN THE LONGITUDINAL MODE OF VIBRATION IN RESPONSE TO ACTUATING ELECTRICAL SIGNALS, CLOSURE MEANS SEALED ACROSS BOTH ENDS OF THE TUBULAR DIAPHRAGM MEANS, ELECTRICAL CONDUCTORS CONNECTED TO EACH OF SAID ELECTROMECHANICAL CONVERTER MEANS FOR ACTUATING THE RESPECTIVE ELECTROMECHANICAL CONVERTER MEANS, MEANS FOR UNITING SAID DIAPHRAGMS AND CLOSURE MEANS TO THAT SAID DIAPHRAGMS AND SAID CLOSURE MEANS CONSTITUTES A TRANSDUCER CAVITY, MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY EQUALIZING THE PRESSURE WITHIN SAID TRANSDUCER CAVITY WITH EXTERNAL HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE, EACH CONVERTER MEANS COMPRISING A STACK OF ELECTROMECHANICAL-ACTIVE ELEMENT EACH OF WHICH IS ADAPTED TO ALTERNATELY EXPAND AND CONTRACT ALONG THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID STACK IN RESPONSE TO THE APPLICATION OF SAID ELECTROMECHANICALLY-ACTIVE, ELEMENTS OF AN ELECTRIC SIGNAL OF FLUCTUATING INTENSITY, THE LONGITUDINAL ENDS OF SAID STACK BEING IN THRUST-TRANSMITTING RELATIONSHIP WITH ITS ASSOCIATED DIAPHRAGM MEMBER;